Messina, with the vaccine to 16 year olds even a glass of beer but it is controversy

Until next Sunday in the Fiera di Messina hub, a new initiative dedicated to the new generations in conjunction with the opening of reservations for over 16. There will be a space dedicated to craft beer.

“As experienced in Israel, we will host a space dedicated to a craft beer that recalls the Messina tradition of Felucca – explains the Covid Messina emergency commissioner Alberto Firenze – on the one hand, to get closer to the world of youth and create one more reason to receive the administration, to protect one’s own health and that of others, on the other hand to enhance the Sicilian artisan products and help the entrepreneurial realities that have suffered the crisis. In light of the safe reopening of commercial activities in the catering sector – underlines Florence – young people can also see vaccination centers as an opportunity to come together, in strict compliance with the rules, linked by a common interest. In the coming weeks, the vaccination hubs will also welcome other kinds of initiatives, events, cultural and entertainment moments ».

The newborn “Birra Feluca”, recently presented in the Salone delle Bandiere of the Municipality of Messina, has enthusiastically joined the idea and will offer the drink at a symbolic cost of 50 cents with a station where the beer will be “tapped”, guaranteeing a low alcohol content, without creating any discomfort for those who must receive the vaccine. “We believe we are making a useful contribution to attract as much as possible young people, university students, but also adults – explains the entrepreneur Daniele De Vincenzo who has always focused on Sicilian production with various brands -. We will propose the Feluca Beer to convey a message of messinesità, the common thread that led to the birth of the new label: rediscover the ancient tradition of fishing for swordfish, felucca, the Strait that dominates Messina and characterizes us in the world ».

But not everyone thinks this is a good idea. “That of beer at 50 cents in the vaccination hub to convince young people to get vaccinated seems to me an out-of-place and diseducative initiative – the president of the Health Commission of Ars Margherita La Rocca Ruvolo – on the one hand because I don’t think these are the messages to be passed on to motivate young people to make a gesture to protect their own health and that of the community and on the other hand because in some way there is a risk of legitimizing and enhancing the use of alcohol, one of the plagues that dramatically affects the youth world. We will call the Commissioner for the Covid emergency in Messina to the Health Commission to have all the necessary clarifications on this advertising initiative launched, among other things, in conjunction with the opening of reservations to over 16, while we all know that alcohol it is forbidden to minors because of the damage it creates “.